By the Way: Check it out

By Rev. Nancy Cocks on March 21, 2026.

I’m one of those annoying people who ‘googles’ topics mid-conversation in case ‘facts’ can inform our chats.

When I checked a health topic recently, the AI assistant admitted “AI is not always accurate.” Such humility!

This footnote called to mind a prominent investigative reporter who explained that she had to document everything reported as ‘fact’ in her exposé of a prominent Canadian politician from three completely independent sources before the publishers’ lawyers would agree to print it.

She inspired me to make sure I checked at least three independent sources for every Biblical claim I made in sermons or Bible studies so I wasn’t just presenting my own views as ‘fact.’

In this age of “artificial intelligence” and on-line competition for our support, our votes and our power to influence each other, how do you check out what is offered as “fact” and views presented as “truth?”

When I was a full-time pastor, folks would forward me links to websites proclaiming “facts” and “truth” which I often found rather sensational. I would do some digging into the sources behind such websites and some ‘fact checking’.

Often, I was less than satisfied with the research these websites relied on.

I’d raise a gentle question about my doubts and point to another source of credible research offering a different point of view.

The New Testament word for ‘truth’ literally means “unconcealed.”

My journalist colleague worked diligently to reveal what a prominent politician hoped would remain concealed.

When I’m using on-line sources, I try to check for hidden assumptions and vested interests in sources I examine before I’ll accept something as true.

When I think of Jesus as ‘the Truth’, I consider that he reveals the true nature of God – compassionate, healing, welcoming, courageously loving. Jesus challenged assumptions over and over again.

In these days of scams and conspiracy theories, be sure to check your sources for their sources and watch for hidden agendas. As Jesus taught, “There is nothing hidden that will not come to light.”

Truth will bring life not just for some but for all God’s creatures.

Rev. Dr. Nancy Cocks, retired Presbyterian professor

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